Liquid aqueous synthetic organic detergent compositions have long been employed for human hair shampoos and as dishwashing detergents for hand washing of dishes (as distinguished from automatic dishwashing machine washing of dishes). Liquid detergent compositions have also been employed as hard surface cleaners, as in pine oil liquids, for cleaning floors and walls. More recently they have proven successful as laundry detergents too, apparently because they are convenient to use, are instantly soluble in wash water, and may be employed in "pre-spotting" applications to facilitate removals of soils and stains from laundry upon subsequent washing. Liquid detergent compositions have comprised anionic, cationic and nonionic surface active agents, builders and adjuvants, including, as adjuvants, lipophilic materials which can act as solvents for lipophilic soils and stains. The various liquid aqueous synthetic organic detergent compositions mentioned serve to emulsify lipophilic materials, including oily soils, in aqueous media, such as wash water, by forming micellar dispersions and emulsions.
Non aqueous liquid crystals Of glycerol/sodium dodecyl sulfonate/Decanol have been disclosed by Friberg and Co. in Colloids and Polymer Science 264:449-453 (1986). Rico and Lattes claim the formation of liquid crystals of formamide/cetyltrimethylamonium bromide/cyclohexane/1-butanol and of formamide/potassium 2,2,3,3 tetrahydroperftuoroundecanoate/1,1,2,2 tetrahydroperfluorohexanol/perfluorinated oils in Nouveau Journal de Chimie vol. 8, No. 7, 1984, p 429 and in Journal of Colloid and Interface Science Vol. 102, No. 1, Nov. 1984 respectively. Liquid crystals of cationic surfactants and various polar solvents have been disclosed by Warnheirn and Co. in Progr. Colloid Polymer Science, 82: 271-279 (1990) and in Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Vol. 125, No. 2 (Oct. 1988). The use of nonionic surfactants in combination with aliphatic hydrocarbons and nonaqueous polar solvent has not been disclosed for the formation of liquid crystals in nonaqueous solvents which can be used in consumer detergents.
The nonaqueous compositions are applicable for use in concentrated household care products and personal care products because they can contain water incompatible active ingredients such as bleachants and/or enzymes. The nonaqueous compositions of the instant invention comprise harmless ingredients as compared to the formamide based composition disclosed by T. Warnheim and M. Sjoberg which could never be used in household or body care products. The instant compositions permit the preparation of super concentrated cleaning or conditioning liquid products containing high level of nonionic surfactants.
The instant nonaqueous compositions can form a gel upon a minimum deletion with water and as such are applicable in oral products. A thin layer of the nonaqueous liquid crystals could be sprayed or otherwise deposited on the teeth and subsequently gelled or thickened by the saliva to allow brushing.
In accordance with the present invention a liquid detergent composition, suitable at room temperature or colder or at a higher temperature, for pre-treating and cleaning materials soiled with a lipophilic soil, is in a nonaqueous liquid crystalline form and comprises a nonionic surface active agent, an aliphatic hydrocarbon and a nonaqueous polar solvent and, optionally, a polar cosolvent. The invention also relates to processes for treating items and materials soiled with soils such as lipophilic soil, with compositions of this invention, to loosen or remove such soil by applying to the locus of such soil on such material a soil loosening or removing amount of the compositions of the instant invention. The invention is also being in the possible conversion of the nonaqueous liquid crystalline composition into a microemulsion by the addition of water thereto into a gel or a solution depending upon the amount of the water addition. In another aspect of the invention lipophilic soil is absorbed from the soiled surface into the nonaqueous composition and then contacted with water so as to convert the microemulsion to solution form.